The Family Announcement
by Proudofyoubabe
Summary: It's Christmas Eve at the Plums. Helen has not heard from Steph in many days but made the assumption that she would show up for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. She also invited Joe Morelli. Hmmm, another recipe for disaster? A Babe HEA, from Margaret and myself—well mostly Margaret :).


Family Announcement.

Stephanie came by and picked up her grandma, she had somewhere to go. Frank had already left to run errands before he took over his cab time, so Helen thought she was getting a peaceful day out of the deal.

It was time for her to decorate the house and her tree. Frank had gotten all the ornaments from the attic and leaving Helen to her devices, and he went out of the house whistling under his breath. It was going to be a good day all the way around.

The snow had started to fall earlier in the day, giving Trenton a Norman Rockwell scene, straight from the picture books. Humming softly to herself, Helen placed each of the family ornaments carefully on the tree; there was Valerie's from Preschool, and Valerie's from first and second grade as well. Here was Angie and Mary Alice's when they were little girls as well.

Helen even found the one she had been looking for, it was a large ball with Valerie's family portrait on it, everyone looking festive in their red and green clothing, even if Mary Alice wore her reindeer antlers for the decorations.

Stephanie didn't have any ornaments, although she looked (but not very hard) she couldn't find one ornament made from her youngest daughter, she could have sworn she had some around here somewhere.

All of a sudden she remembered Stephanie came by a couple of weeks ago to get them, her daddy said she could have them to decorate her 'own family tree', as if Stephanie even had a family.

Helen harrumphed at that thought. In that apartment of hers, what a thought to think Stephanie had a tree at all. Although she hadn't seen her youngest daughter for weeks now, she thought she knew why. Maybe her and Joseph were finally settling down, although she couldn't be sure of anything when it came to those two.

Hearing the phone ring in the kitchen, Helen stopped her work on the tree to answer it, "Plum residence, Merry Christmas," Helen said into the phone.

"Hi, Mrs. Plum, this is Joe Morelli, is Stephanie around today, I thought maybe I could join you tonight in your family dinner," was what Helen was hearing.

"Why Joe, you know you are always welcome, I had thought Stephanie and you were already spending time together, after all she came and got her tree ornaments, for her 'own family tree' is what she told Frank," Helen told him.

"It isn't with me, Mrs. Plum, maybe she is doing her own tree this year at her apartment. Although when I went over there earlier today, the locks had been changed, so I couldn't be sure of what she was doing," Joseph told her in reply.

"I'll see you at six tonight; maybe we can figure out what is going on with that daughter of mine," Helen said before hanging up the phone.

She went back to decorating the tree, but all the while thinking. If Stephanie wasn't hanging out with Joseph, where was she spending all of her time?

Every time she asked her over for dinner, or just expected her to show up once she left a message for her to do so, she never came by, or told her she was 'busy'.

Evidently busy didn't mean with Joseph.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Frank walked into the living room right about five thirty, a big smile on his face, but not answering his wife of where he had been all day…

Right afterwards, here came Edna, strolling in big as day, the biggest smile on her face as well, ignoring her daughter that was starting to berate her as well, where was she exactly? Where was Stephanie? She was expected for dinner as Helen had invited over someone for her (again). As usual, she never noticed the looks that Edna and Frank gave each other. There was news to share over the dinner.

Finally, Edna went to the door, and let in Stephanie and her constant companion of the past few months: Ranger.

Helen came to the door. "What is the meaning of this, young lady? Don't you know you are supposed to be spending time with your family tonight of all nights?"

Joe Morelli came in the back door and through the kitchen and heard it all. "Really cupcake, isn't it bad enough you work in his building all the time, and are never around anymore? You 're not even around the bonds office when I stop by, and no one at Pino's has seen you forever, whenever I ask about you."

Helen said, **"Well young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?"**

Frank ended the suspense by strolling over to Ranger's side and clapping him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the family, son. Your wedding was perfect today. And there was no one there to ruin it," he said, giving Helen and Morelli pointed looks.

"Cupcake, you just threw your life away," Morelli said from the kitchen door. "Can't you see through that charming exterior that there's something wrong with him? Your life will be like Bonnie and Clyde's."

Stephanie didn't say anything, she just tightened the grip on her husband's arm.

"Well Stephanie, what do you have to say for yourself? Joe's right you know, you'll be spending your life on the run. Why do you always have to do this to me?" Helen began her usual rant. "I don't understand why I can't have a normal daughter who does normal things…like marry the boy next door. No, my daughter had to run off with the town's most eligible thug."

"Carlos is not a thug mom, he's a successful businessman and as for your comment about Bonnie and Clyde Joe? I've always found them romantic. We just wanted to stop by to say goodbye; Carlos is taking me to Rome for our Christmas and our honeymoon. We'll send you a postcard."

"Stephane, what about Christmas dinner?" my mother chimed in. "We always have a family dinner."

"When you're accepting of _my_ family, I'll think about it. Until then, ciao."

With that Stephanie and Ranger turned around and walked hand-in-hand through the lightly falling snow back to Ranger's porsche.

And I heard them exclaim as they drove out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all. And to all a goodnight."


End file.
